{"id":93457,"date":"2018-07-02T11:12:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T11:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=55527cd78b996bc5987d8f9e7163d7bc"},"modified":"2018-07-02T11:12:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T11:12:10","slug":"speech-policy-exchange-housing-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=93457","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Policy Exchange: housing speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Thank you, Dean, for that kind introduction.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s great to be back at Policy Exchange \u2013 my first time as Housing Secretary.<\/p>\n

I welcome this first opportunity to provide a sense of some of my priorities and the agenda before me in my new role.<\/p>\n

Having previously covered the Immigration and Northern Ireland briefs, I have always relished a challenge.<\/p>\n

And housing is, I believe, the defining challenge of the moment.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, Sir Oliver Letwin likened this need to collaborate on housing to the wartime effort to build Spitfires.<\/p>\n

I agree that we need to see more of this can-do spirit.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also reminded of Britain\u2019s post-war push on housing. The 1951 Conservative manifesto described housing as \u2018the first social-service\u2019.<\/p>\n

I agree.<\/p>\n

It was that understanding \u2013 that housing is the key to better life \u2013 that underpinned Harold Macmillan\u2019s drive to meet his ambitious target of building 300,000 homes a year.<\/p>\n

We need to do the same and get everyone on board to build at scale and pace.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m mindful \u2013 this isn\u2019t just about getting the numbers up. We don\u2019t have to make a false choice between quality and quantity.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also about building places that people are happy to call home. Places where they can come together in strong, thriving communities for generations to come.<\/p>\n

The challenge<\/h2>\n

Everyone deserves a decent, affordable and secure place to call home. It\u2019s the most fundamental of human needs.<\/p>\n

But for too many people, that need has become an increasing struggle \u2013 as house prices and rents go through the roof.<\/p>\n

The figures speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

The average house price is 8 times average income.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise today\u2019s generation is half as likely as their parents to own their own home.<\/p>\n

And private rents no longer track people\u2019s earnings. In some parts of the country you can expect to spend more than half of your salary on rent.<\/p>\n

We should never forget the people behind these numbers. People who just want a fair chance.<\/p>\n

The family who can\u2019t afford a bigger place for their children to grow up.<\/p>\n

The young professional who can\u2019t take a job in a new city due to sky-high rents.<\/p>\n

The older couple who want to downsize, but can\u2019t find a suitable home.<\/p>\n

These are people who have worked hard and made sacrifices.<\/p>\n

Yet the security and opportunities that previous generations have enjoyed is passing them by.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t just hurt them.<\/p>\n

When a generation is locked out of the housing market like this, it hurts us as a country.<\/p>\n

Which is why, today, there is no mission more urgent than fixing our broken housing market.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just an economic mission \u2013 it is a moral mission.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about social justice and building a fairer, stronger Britain that\u2019s truly fit for the future.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why confronting rough sleeping and some of the broader challenges of homelessness is an important priority for me.<\/p>\n

And why I will shortly be publishing a social housing green paper to respond to the concerns of tenants, underlined in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.<\/p>\n

Leaseholds<\/h2>\n

That fairness has to underpin all parts of our market.<\/p>\n

The leasehold market has been a particular concern to me.<\/p>\n

Buying a home is the biggest financial investment any of us will be lucky enough to make.<\/p>\n

Getting the keys to your home is a real moment of pride.<\/p>\n

But abusive practices in the leasehold market \u2013 unexpected costs that rise every year and bear no relation to services \u2013 can turn a homeowner\u2019s dream into a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Unjust and unfair leasehold terms also risk making relatively new houses unattractive to buyers.<\/p>\n

Enough is enough. We\u2019ve already said we\u2019re banning the unjustified use of leaseholds on new homes and we will bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.<\/p>\n

And for flats, in future, ground rents for long leases will be limited to a peppercorn.<\/p>\n

But today I can confirm we will go a step further.<\/p>\n

Any new government funding scheme will contain the condition that the money cannot support the unjustified use of leasehold for new houses.<\/p>\n

We want to build more homes, yes, but not at any cost.<\/p>\n

This will bring real change \u2013 an essential step to restore pride and dignity to homeowners everywhere.<\/p>\n

Renting<\/h2>\n

We are also bringing real change to make renting more secure.<\/p>\n

I know this is particularly important for the growing number of families, vulnerable tenants and older people who rent and live with the uncertainty of suddenly being forced to move or fear eviction if they complain about problems with their home.<\/p>\n

Which is why I\u2019m announcing the launch of a consultation today on overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re proposing a new longer tenancy model, of a minimum of 3 years, with a 6 month break clause to allow tenants and landlords to exit the agreement early if needed.<\/p>\n

I will also be launching a call for evidence in the autumn to better understand and improve the experience of people using courts and tribunal services in property cases, including considering the case for a specialist Housing Court.<\/p>\n

Ownership<\/h2>\n

And we are helping those tenants who aspire to own their own home. Because home ownership is something we should be aspiring to.<\/p>\n

When I speak to people in my constituency \u2013 and across the country \u2013 I hear it time and time again: \u201cWe just want that chance\u201d.<\/p>\n

And rightly so.<\/p>\n

This government is committed to helping people achieve this aspiration.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, government backed schemes have helped over 468,000 households buy a home.<\/p>\n

The number of UK first time buyers is at an 11 year annual high.<\/p>\n

But this ambition still remains out of reach for many.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I will be considering further steps in the time ahead on turning the vision of home ownership into a reality.<\/p>\n

Owning your own home is, I believe, the cornerstone of our communities.<\/p>\n

And, as laid out in our Housing white paper<\/a>, it\u2019s a mission that requires everyone who has a stake\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 government, local authorities, the private sector and communities\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 to play their part.<\/p>\n

Government action<\/h2>\n

And since 2010, we have worked tirelessly to play ours.<\/p>\n

We have delivered over a million new homes.<\/p>\n

And in the last year, we saw over 217,000 new homes delivered \u2013 the highest number in all but one of the past 30 years.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also helped hundreds of thousands of people onto the housing ladder and are putting billions into affordable housing and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

And, following last week\u2019s announcement<\/a> on raising the Housing Revenue Account cap by \u00a31 billion and investing \u00a31.67 billion in social housing, we\u2019re paving the way for a new generation of council housing.<\/p>\n

In total \u2013 with the \u00a315 billion of new financial support announced at Autumn Budget \u2013 we\u2019re investing \u00a344 billion in housing over the next 5 years.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re also building the environment for house building to flourish.<\/p>\n

Our new National Planning Policy Framework \u2013 coming into force shortly \u2013 will transform planning.<\/p>\n

And our new national housing agency, Homes England, is taking a more strategic \u2013 and assertive \u2013 approach to getting homes built.<\/p>\n

This will have real impact.<\/p>\n

You can already see it in places like Burgess Hill \u2013 a site that is desperately needed for affordable housing but which sat undeveloped.<\/p>\n

To unlock this site Homes England stepped in, bought the land and is delivering the infrastructure. And as a result, today I am pleased to announce that over 3000 new homes will now be built there.<\/p>\n

We are making every effort, from every angle, to get Britain building.<\/p>\n

Transparency<\/h2>\n

But there is clearly much more to do \u2013 not least on turning planning permissions into homes.<\/p>\n

Since 2013, buildout \u2013 in other words, the time between planning permission and completion \u2013 has gone from 1.7 years to 4 years.<\/p>\n

Sir Oliver Letwin is leading an independent review of buildout.<\/p>\n

In his interim report<\/a>, Sir Oliver found it takes over 15 years to complete home building on some of the country\u2019s biggest sites. The larger the site, the smaller the percentage of development is built each year.<\/p>\n

Moreover, we\u2019ve seen a 40% lapse in planning permissions.<\/p>\n

Here in London, 270,000 residential planning permissions remain un-built.<\/p>\n

This is, frankly, not good enough.<\/p>\n

Planning permissions that don\u2019t become homes mean:<\/p>\n